


Instant Metamorphmagus

by cian1675



Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Don't Take This Too Seriously, Gen, Hybrids, Lowkey Crack, Puppy!Woohyun, lowkey OT7 although myungsoo doesn't appear until the end, sort of a hybrid au, sung!brothers, technically a metamorphmagus au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-04-14 22:35:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14146074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cian1675/pseuds/cian1675
Summary: Howon's just cooking ramyeon for Sunggyu when suddenly, a puppy appears in the pot.





	Instant Metamorphmagus

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this [tweet](https://twitter.com/PapaCone_/status/856874913470328832)
> 
> Thanks to char for giving me the idea of ramyeon pup hyun :3 You and jo and everyone on twitter who in someway cheered this fic on is why I finally managed to finish it :)

**1**

“Sugar. Spice. And everything nice. Those were the ingredients chosen to create the perfect little –”

“Dongwoo, are you watching Powerpuff Girls again?”

Dongwoo looks away from the television, beaming. “Yup! Want to join?”

There’s a raised brow followed by a small amused smile, but Sungjong does eventually sit down next to Dongwoo.

“Sure, why not?”

 

 

 

**2**

A loud rumble sounds. Howon looks up; Sunggyu already has his hands up in a defensive position.

“It’s not me –”

Howon gives him a dry look.

“I’m lying on your stomach, do you think I won’t realise you’re lying?”

Sunggyu grins sheepishly. “Okay, fine, yeah, I’m hungry. But it’s late and it’ll take too long to order takeout and I’m too lazy to move and –”

“Is that your way of telling me to cook for you?” Howon asks, amused. He doesn’t actually move from his position though, and Sunggyu pouts a little.

“Come on, are you going to let your boyfriend stay hungry? Cook me some ramyeon at least? Please?”

Howon snuggles further up against Sunggyu’s belly, contemplating for a moment, but Sunggyu lets out a soft pleading whine, and he relents.

“Fine, fine. I’ll cook it for you. But honestly, you can do it yourself perfectly fine, why do you need me to do it?”

Sunggyu shoots him a charming smile from where he’s still lying on their sofa.

“Because you make tastier ramyeon?”

Howon rolls his eyes.

 

 

 

**3**

Sungyeol’s holding a packet in hand, wondering when he should try this. Maybe later tonight, if he’s not feeling too sleepy, he thinks, but a sound comes from behind him, and he quickly shoves the packet into the nearest drawer.

“What are you doing, Sungyeol?”

Sungyeol tries to put on a neutral face, hoping his brother won’t notice that he was startled.

“Um, nothing? Just looking for something to eat?”

Sunggyu idly rubs his head, blinking. “Oh.” Sungyeol thinks he’s going to just walk out (and let him reexamine his packet in peace) but then Sunggyu says, “Well, I’m hungry too, why don’t you make some food and I can see if we still have rice?”

Sungyeol eyes the drawer from the corner of his eye, but figures he won’t be able to get to it without Sunggyu getting curious about the contents of the packet. He should just go along with Sunggyu, and hope his brother would leave him alone once dinner is settled.

“R-right. Let’s hurry up and make dinner, eh? I’m really famished.”

Sunggyu laughs.

“You and me both, you and me both.”

 

 

 

**4**

Howon doesn’t even bother to switch on the lights, Sunggyu thinks, but he’s not going to dictate how his boyfriend cooks, especially not when he thinks any comment on his part would mean said boyfriend would just complain that he’s being fussy and bossy and that he should just “cook the damn ramyeon himself”. So Sunggyu keeps his mouth shut, watching Howon move around the kitchen, setting a pot of water to boil and opening the drawer to get ramyeon. He tries not to comment on how Howon only dumps the seasoning powder into the pot, not bothering with any extra ingredients like onions or even an egg, instead focusing on how he’s actually getting fed without having to move.

It’s one of the benefits of having Howon move in with him, Sunggyu thinks, amongst _other_ things. Though some of these _other things_ are kind of hindered by the fact that Sungyeol still stays in a room in his apartment although at least their maknae, Sungjong, has already moved out. Sunggyu’s wondering if he can find a way for Sungyeol to stay elsewhere (maybe he can move in with Sungjong?) when Howon suddenly yells from the kitchen –

“What the hell!”

Howon’s standing really far from the stove, his body language tense even from the back. Sunggyu quickly gets up. When he gets to the kitchen, he sees why Howon reacted as loudly as he did.

There’s a puppy in the pot.

 

 

 

**5**

Sungjong likes the freedom that comes from in his own apartment, but sometimes, he kind of feels lonely. It’s on one of these lonely nights that he decides to dig out his old textbooks, and halfway through laughing at his old notes, he comes across something interesting.

 

 

 

**6**

“I swear to god I only opened the ramyeon packet, dumped in the seasoning and noodles like I was supposed to. I have no idea why or how the puppy appeared in the pot,” Howon explains frantically while he tries to switch off the stove without getting too near to the pot (or the puppy). Sunggyu stands frozen with wide eyes by the side, mouth agape.

“H-how… Why… Is that a real puppy?”

Howon peers at the pot where previously there was only water, seasoning and ramyeon noodles.

“I have no clue. It made a whimper which was why I opened the lid, and it was just… _there_. But it made a sound, so I guess it must be real?”

As if on cue, the puppy blinks, making a soft yip and Howon takes an unconscious step back.

“Hyung… maybe we should… take it out of the pot?”

Sunggyu looks between the pot and Howon.

“You do it.”

Howon frowns at him.

“I’m… still kind of scared of dogs,” Sunggyu starts, and Howon sighs. For once, Sunggyu isn’t really lying (not like the way he had about his stomach), so Howon ends up walking towards the pot. He’s not sure how the puppy is still alright when the pot had been boiling ramyeon earlier, but the puppy seems fine when he gingerly scoops it out.

“It’s so small,” he mumbles. He can almost hold the puppy with just one hand, though he cradles it between both because he’s kind of scared he’ll drop it. Sunggyu stays an arm’s length away, eyeing the puppy suspiciously.

“It seems real.”

“The pup?” Howon hesitantly runs a finger along the fur on the puppy’s back, the little thing wriggling slightly under his touch.

“Yeah…” Sunggyu replies. “What are we going to do with it?”

The puppy’s pawing Howon’s shirt now, and he adjusts his hold so he’s cradling the puppy in his arms instead of just holding it in his hands. It’s a nice warm weight, surprisingly obedient.

“I don’t know. Do you think we should bring it to the police or a shelter or something?”

Sunggyu frowns, thinking. “I guess so. We can’t have a puppy here.”

Howon pulls the puppy’s paw off his chest where its nails are digging in, humming thoughtfully.

“Well, unfortunately both places are closed right now. What should we do with it in the mean time?”

It takes a while, but eventually Sunggyu sighs.

“I guess we can leave it in the living room and you can put something around it for barriers while I hide in the bedroom until morning.”

Howon raises his eyebrows, amused.

“Well, that’s one way.”

 

 

 

**7**

The first time Sungjong tries the set of instructions he had copied years ago, nothing happens. The second time he decides to add a little more sugar and his pot almost exploded. The third time is a half-hearted last-ditch attempt, a pinch of cinnamon added instead of sugar and Sungjong doesn’t expect anything to happen, but for some reason, something went right.

A weird sound comes from the pot, halfway between a chirp and a squeak. Sungjong blinks in surprise. Then, his apartment door beeps, the code entered correctly, and Sungyeol walks in.

“Jongie!” And then, a second later, “Wait, what is that in your pot? Are you cooking a –”

“Hyung, wait, I can explain.”

 

 

 

**8**

Howon’s only just finished the cushion fort around the living room, stripping his shirt off before he gets into bed when he hears scratching on the door.

“Is it the puppy?” Sunggyu asks, mostly hidden under the blanket, only his eyes peeking out. He looks kind of scared, and Howon doesn’t know whether he should laugh or not. Here was a grown man, many times bigger than the tiny pup outside and he’s hiding from the little thing. Pulling the covers over, Howon snuggles up next to Sunggyu, head resting on Sunggyu’s chest.

“Well, I already put all the cushions from the sofa around it and –”

Howon’s barely halfway through his sentence when their bedroom door parts slightly, a small yip announcing the arrival of an unwelcomed guest.

“You didn’t close the door properly,” Sunggyu complains, scooting to the far end of the bed, but it doesn’t work because the puppy somehow manages to climb its way onto the bed, and on Sunggyu’s side. “Oh my god, why’s it here?”

Howon laughs. “Maybe it likes you.”

Sunggyu frowns at him, trying to coax the puppy over to Howon’s side of the bed, or maybe back to the floor, but the puppy just lies down by Sunggyu’s feet. Howon watches Sunggyu eyes the sleeping puppy, clearly contemplating what to do.

“Hyung, just let it sleep. It’s only at your feet. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Sunggyu throws him a side eye, but Howon merely puts an arm around Sunggyu’s waist, already cuddling up to sleep.

“Come on, it’s a poor little thing, just let it sleep. We’ll bring it to the shelter or something tomorrow.”

Howon feels Sunggyu thinking it over, but eventually he relents.

“Fine, but this is all on you if it attacks me in my sleep.”

Howon would roll his eyes if they weren’t already closed.

“Mm, sure…”

 

 

 

**9**

Sunggyu drops by Sungjong’s apartment one day while Sungjong’s not in. He wonders when his baby brother bought a pet lizard. Well, at least it’s not a dog. He’s scared of dogs. He leaves the groceries he bought for Sungjong in his fridge, and goes home afterwards. He’ll have to remember to ask Sungjong about his new pet.

 

 

 

**10**

There’s a weird feeling against his arm. Howon blurrily opens one eye, expecting it to just be Sunggyu’s hair or something brushing his skin, but the puppy’s right in front of him.

Against Sunggyu’s chest.

And Sunggyu’s arms are around it, instead of over Howon’s waist like it usually is.

“What the hell, puppy,” Howon mumbles, moving back a little so he doesn’t get a mouthful of fur. His sleep-addled brain vaguely registers that it’s pointless to talk to a puppy (and a sleeping one at that), but Howon’s feeling annoyed that he lost his usual spot. He kind of regrets letting the puppy onto the bed now.

“Talk about ungrateful.”

He rolls onto his back, a little cold now that he’s not spooned against Sunggyu but he tries to go back to sleep nonetheless.

“Damn pup. You’re going to the shelter the first thing tomorrow.”

 

 

 

**11**

Sungyeol is, despite how he usually behaves, sharp, and his gaze is surprisingly scary. Sungjong can’t think of a good reason to explain why he has a bearded dragon in his pot (at least, that’s what he thinks it is), and he ends up blurting out the truth. Instead of surprise, or any other similar sort of reaction that Sungjong was expecting, Sungyeol ended up saying –

“Huh.”

He had thought that was the end of that, but then Sungyeol suddenly has a glint in his eye.

“Jongie.”

That tone doesn’t sound good.

“…yes?”

“Can you make one for me too?”

 

 

 

**12**

It’s been a while since Howon’s awaken by being kicked off the bed. He sits on the floor for a moment, disoriented, before getting up, ready to rip Sunggyu a new one for kicking him but he’s surprised by what he sees on the bed.

There’s a naked man tangled in the sheets with Sunggyu.

A naked _stranger_.

 

 

 

**13**

There’s an arm, too warm on his waist when Sunggyu stirs awake. He blurrily opens his eyes, expecting to see Howon, but instead what he gets is a face full of hair, and a weird gasping sound that comes from a little further.

A little further. Where _Howon_ is standing. Where he is not on the bed.

Sunggyu is suddenly wide awake, scooting up too fast from whoever had been cuddled against him.

“What the fuck.”

He’s holding the blanket against his chest, aware on some level that it’s useless against the stranger on his bed, but Sunggyu’s mind is on other things. Other things like –

“Who are you?”

Howon’s voice is loud enough that the guy with messy hair stirs, and now that he’s awake, Sunggyu notices something he hadn’t earlier.

“Why – Are those …dog ears on your head?”

 

 

 

**14**

Sungyeol ends up drinking with Sunggyu after they made dinner together, getting buzzed enough to forget about the packet he had stashed in Sunggyu’s kitchen. He intends to get it the next morning, but then he gets an urgent call from work, and one thing led to another until he’s only just gotten off from his overtime. Sungyeol’s rubbing his tired eyes when he finds that he has a new message from Sungjong.

_How did it go?_

How did what go? Confused, Sungyeol stares at the text for a while before he remembers what Sungjong is talking about.

The packet.

 

 

 

**15**

“Who are you?” Howon asks again when the stranger – stranger with _dog ears_ atop his head – doesn’t answer. He’s half in shock, half freaked out _– shit, is that a …tail? What the hell_ – and he doesn’t realise how loud he’s being until the stranger looks up at him with damp eyes, shoulders hunched as his lower lip quivers slightly.

“D-didn’t you s-summon me?”

Howon stares at him, uncomprehending.  His pouting sad face is too much for Howon and he looks to Sunggyu for help, but Sunggyu looks just as lost as he is. In the end, it’s the stranger who speaks first.

“Y-you summoned me with the powder…right?”

Howon feels his brows furrow. “No…?” Sunggyu looks like he’s thinking hard as well, and it suddenly clicks.

“Howon. The puppy yesterday. The _ramyeon_.”

Sunggyu’s already heading to the kitchen in wide strides before he finishes his sentence, and Howon follows, watching him look through the bin for the packet they had cooked yesterday.

“‘Instant Metamorphmagus. Dog flavoured’,” Sunggyu reads from the crumpled packaging.

Howon blinks, peeking over Sunggyu’s shoulder to check the words to be sure he hadn’t misheard. He doesn’t notice the stranger has followed them to the kitchen until he hears –

“It says ‘shapeshifts between dog and human’ as well.”

His words are followed by a little sniff, and Howon tries to ignore that, concentrating on the information from the package instead.

“…so, you… are the puppy from yesterday…”

“Yep!” The sudden enthusiasm is obvious, if a little unexpected, and Howon catches sight of a tail wagging before it slows a little. The stranger glances between him and Sunggyu expectantly, all wide hopeful eyes and a slight purse of his lips that’s not quite a pout. The action is so endearingly puppy-like, Howon doesn’t know how to respond. He has an irrational urge to pat the puppy the way he had done yesterday, except the puppy isn’t quite a puppy right now. Luckily, Sunggyu speaks before Howon does anything strange.

“You know, this is a lot to take in.”

The puppy tilts his head at that, and Howon almost expects him to whine or yip. He doesn’t though, just stands there like he’s waiting for Sunggyu to continue, tail no longer wagging.

“Uh, puppy, Howon and I are going to discuss something for a while, just… stay here for a while, yeah?”

The puppy looks at them for a moment, blinking, before he says –

“Okay, I’ll wait! And my name isn’t puppy. It’s Woohyun.”

 

 

 

**16**

Sungyeol can’t find the packet when he gets home. Granted, he can’t really remember which drawer he had stuffed it into when Sunggyu startled him yesterday, and his currently exhausted brain isn’t helping. He blurrily pulls open a few drawers to check, before deciding he might have better luck finding the packet tomorrow when his mind is a little clearer. On that thought, Sungyeol gives up the search, stretching out his stiff neck as he heads for his room.

The living room is a mess when he passes by it; he has to kick a few cushions out of the way. Still, Sungyeol’s seen how Sunggyu gets with Howon sometimes, so he doesn’t think much of the cushions lying haphazardly on the floor. Or rather, he tries not to think about it, because it’s his brother and his boyfriend, and just, _eww_.  Scrubbing a hand down his face, Sungyeol puts his brother and Howon out of his mind, remembering to close his door to tune out the worse of any noise they might make later.

 

 

 

**17**

He had said he’ll wait, but Woohyun can’t sit still for long. He’s pacing around the small space in the living room, worrying his tail for something to do when he hears an exclamation from the room the two guys had gone off to.

“Abandon him?”

Woohyun stills. He quietly tiptoes over to the door, pressing his ear (the dog one, those work better) against it, but it seems that the two guys have reverted back to hushed voices. His heart is thumping harder in his chest. He doesn’t want to know what kind of decision Howon and the guy he calls hyung is coming to, but he can sort of guess.

_They don’t want him._

It had been kind of obvious, the way the two humans were clueless and confused earlier but for some reason, the way Howon had looked at him and the way he had gently carried Woohyun out of the pot yesterday had made him hope. But maybe that was all in vain. Howon’s voice saying “abandon him” is now a repeating soundtrack in his head. Squeezing his eyes shut, Woohyun takes a deep breath and makes a decision.

He shifts back to a puppy.

 

 

 

**18**

Sungyeol checks the kitchen the first thing in the morning. Sunggyu’s room door is still closed, which was kind of what he’s hoping for – no one around to ask questions. He tiptoes to the cupboards, goes through each one methodically for the packet he’d gotten from Sungjong.

Nope, the damn thing is still nowhere to be found.

Sungyeol digs around for a few more minutes, before he gives up.

Time to go find Jongie again then.

 

 

 

**19**

The outside is cold.

Woohyun had sneaked down the lift with an elderly couple, went past the apartment lobby’s main door in a sprint, but he’s regretting it a little now. Even with fur and paws, Woohyun finds the park just in front of the apartment bitter against his skin, and he runs around to keep warm for all of ten minutes before he gives up and skulks back into the warm lobby.

 

 

 

**20**

Sungjong lives in the next building from Sunggyu’s. Sometimes, that’s a good thing, like when Sungyeol wants out from his annoying older brother. Right now, however, it looks cold outside, and Sungyeol isn’t looking forward to the short walk there. He’s preparing himself, adjusting his scarf more slowly than necessary to prolong his stay in the warmth of the lobby when he hears a soft whine. It sounds like a…

“Oh, _hello_ , what do we have here?”

A small off-white puppy is tucked in the corner behind the potted plant, whimpering. Sungyeol scoops him up carefully, cradles the small thing in his arms.

“Are you cold?”

More whimpers, pitiful noises that makes Sungyeol feel bad if he just left the poor thing here. Well, it’s not like the trip to Sungjong’s apartment can’t wait. It’s too cold outside anyway. Sungyeol holds the puppy against his chest, scratches its head.

“Come on, let’s go back to my apartment and we’ll get you warmed up.”

He doesn’t understand puppy talk, but Sungyeol thinks he sees the puppy’s tail wiggle a little, and the whining simmers down into a short yip.

“I see you’re up for this too huh. Must have been really cold for you. Let’s go!”

This time, the puppy actually barks, a cute joyful thing, and Sungyeol laughs.

 

 

 

**21**

“We can’t just abandon the puppy, hyung, much as you are scared of dogs –”

“I am not scared of dogs,” Sunggyu starts, but stops when Howon gives him a pointed stare. “Okay, fine, I am scared of dogs, but I’m not saying to abandon it! I’m just saying, we can bring it to a shelter or something…”

Howon has his hands on his hips, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He’s staring at the ground, probably thinking.

“I don’t think a shelter is going to take the news of a shapeshifting dog very well. I mean, if the puppy freaked us out, imagine how well that would go in an animal shelter? What’s to say they won’t drop him the moment they realise he’s not a normal dog?”

Sunggyu opens his mouth, but stops because he knows Howon has a point. Giving him (It? Him?)  to an animal shelter could very well be a step towards just abandoning him. Still…

“It doesn’t change the fact that I’m …scared of dogs.”

Howon’s eyes soften at that, and Sunggyu finds himself being pulled into Howon’s chest, Howon’s arms around his waist, palms on his back.

“We can try to find someone who’s willing to take him in ourselves? He could just stay with us until we find someone else who’ll have him.”

This sounds like the start of every person who’s taken in a puppy before and never let it go afterwards, but Sunggyu rests his face against Howon’s neck, breathes in his comforting smell.

“Fine,” he mumbles, already giving in. It’s hard to argue against Howon, and to be fair, the puppy isn’t fully a dog so maybe it won’t be that bad. Maybe he’ll only be half scared half the time.

Yeah, right.

He’s about to retract his offer, when Howon says –

“Hey, I think we should tell him, uh, Woohyun, about our decision. He might be worried waiting on the other side of the door.”

“Right,” Sunggyu says. Howon’s already moved to open the bedroom door, peeking his head out and then –

“Woohyun?”

There’s no answer.

Sunggyu trails behind his boyfriend, watches him move around the living room, calling for the pup – metamorphmagus? – a few more times. When there’s still no reply, human or canine, Sunggyu joins in the search. He’s expecting a puppy – surely a grown man won’t be able to hide so well – but after ten minutes where neither of them finds anything, Sunggyu notices the main door is slightly ajar.

“Wait, Howon, look at the door.”

Howon turns, blinks once. “Oh shit, do you think…”

“He might have run out?”

“Crap,” Howon mumbles. “What do we do now?”

What does one do with a shapeshifting puppy and what does one do when said puppy runs out?

“I don’t know man, shit, I don’t know.”

 

 

 

**22**

The lift is warm. Woohyun is warm. The chest he’s hugged against is warm.

The guy who’d found him at the lobby – Sungyeol, he’d said his name was – seems nice enough, and he’s checking Woohyun for any signs of ownership, which seems like something a decent person would do. Maybe Sungyeol would want him. Maybe his heart is as warm as his chest. Woohyun yips, lulled into comfort by another scratch on the head, and doesn’t notice when the lift doors open.

“We’re almost back at my place. Come on, you’ll be even warmer soon!”

Sungyeol really seems nice, Woohyun thinks, wondering if he wants to reveal that he’s not just a regular pup or not. The last reveal obviously hadn’t gone too well. He’s busy wondering if he should risk it and tell Sungyeol and he doesn’t notice where he’s being carried to until –

“W-Woohyun?”

The unit Sungyeol’s heading for has the door open, two figures in front of it. One of them has his head bent, pulling on his socks, and the other one – Howon – is looking at him.

“Who’s Woohyu–” Sungyeol starts to ask, but Woohyun’s already wiggling out of his hold, jumping to the ground.

 

 

 

**23**

He’d done it more on instinct than anything, but Howon doesn’t realise he’s chasing after the puppy until he’s all the way at the lift lobby, still only somewhat sure that the puppy that had been in Sungyeol’s arms was Woohyun.

(Somewhat sure because the colour of the fur had seem right, and the puppy had bolted once he’d called Woohyun’s name, but that’s honestly all Howon has going for him as he tries not to lose sight of the little tail disappearing around the corner.)

“Woohyun, are you…” Fuck, okay, running and trying to shout isn’t the best combination, and Howon narrowly avoids a puzzled elderly couple strolling. “I’m sorry,” he yells at them, still running. “My… puppy…” he offers as way of an apology, bowing his head a little even though he doesn’t think they can see.

“Woohyun, are you –”

“Stop yelling my name and chasing me in the streets,” someone suddenly whispers into his ear, urgent and Howon realises that one, he’s just been pulled into one of the side alleys off the main street and two, Woohyun’s standing there – stark naked, no less – looking annoyed.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t sure if it was you,” Howon starts, fumbles with how weak the reason is. He’s still not quite sure why he’d started chasing after the pup but… “Why did you suddenly run away?”

Woohyun stares at him like he’d asked a dumb question, then deflates quickly.

“I didn’t want to give you guys trouble.”

Wait. “What?” Howon blinks, realises Woohyun’s shaking now because it’s cold and he’s naked. “Shit, sorry, wait, put on my coat first. You look really cold.”

Woohyun takes the coat hesitantly but pulls it tight over his body once he has it on. It’s probably still not enough but Howon’s only have so much to offer. Woohyun’s dog ears are pressed against the top of his head, and he’s not looking at Howon when he finally says –

“I overheard you guys talking earlier, you know. About abandoning me.”

“…Is that why you ran?” Howon asks, beginning to see what might have happened.

“Yeah,” Woohyun mumbles, sheepish. “Though I don’t know why you chased me all the way here… uhm –”

“I don’t know why either,” Howon replies matter-of-factly, then stops short when Woohyun’s face falls a little at his tone.

“Sorry,” Woohyun says, already pulling off Howon’s coat, but Howon cuts in quickly, tries to explain –

“You misheard earlier. We were talking about how we can’t just abandon you? Or at least, I won’t do that to a normal puppy and I’m definitely not going to do that to you because you’re a shapeshifter, uh, metamor… something…”

“…Oh,” Woohyun mumbles, hands still at the lapels of Howon’s coat, unbuttoning forgotten. “So… what now then, if you’re not abandoning me? I get that your hyung isn’t too fond of me…”

Right, _that_.

“Sunggyu’s just scared of dogs, but he might be okay with you since you’re not always one? I don’t know. Actually, I’m not even sure what I’m doing here because I don’t know what to do now that I’ve caught up to you but if you want, we can offer you our couch to stay until you figure out what you want to do?”

Howon doesn’t realise he’s gone off into a ramble until Woohyun looks at him quizzically, a slight smile upon his lips.

“I… I’ll be grateful if I could stay for a while, at least until the weather’s warmer, or I find my friends. Some of them were summoned here before I was, so I think I’ll try to see if I can contact them,” Woohyun says, and Howon’s about to say _that’s fine_ , and _can we just go home because I think we’re both cold_ , but just then, he hears panting and then –

“Howon, where are you – Oh. I see you found uh…”

“Woohyun,” Howon supplies helpfully, then decides to sum up their conversation for Sunggyu who had apparently been behind the whole time, “We had a quick talk and he’s going to stay with us for a while until he finds his friends, is that okay, hyung?”

“Yeah, sure,” Sunggyu answers, then suddenly grimaces with a gasp. “Oh god, I’m never running again, I need to sit.”

Someone laughs, and it’s definitely not (just) Howon.

 

 

 

**24**

Sunggyu and Howon had gone after the puppy abruptly, leaving just Sungyeol who finds himself still standing in the corridor, arms wrapped around empty space.

Huh.

He remains there for a while more, wonders if he should go back in, or…

“You know what, this is probably a sign that I should just find Jongie.”

He locks up Sunggyu’s front door, then decides to call Sungjong so it won’t be an entirely unexpected visit. The phone rings for long enough that Sungyeol’s about to hang up, when someone finally picks up.

“Hello, Sungjong’s busy at the moment, who’s this?”

“Sungjong’s brother,” Sungyeol says, vaguely surprised that someone’s in Sungjong’s house. His brother isn’t the most sociable, and sure, he has a pet now but still. “Who are _you_?”

“Oh! Are you Sunggyu or Sungyeol? And I’m Dongwoo! His pet bearded drago –”

There’s the sound of a scuffle, and then it’s Sungjong’s voice over the phone.

“Hey, hyung, so there’s uh… something I should probably tell you about the ramyeon packet I gave you…”

 

 

 

 

 

**Epilogue**

“I can’t believe you didn’t realise Woohyun was the puppy you picked up at the lift lobby until two months after he’s stayed in the house. Just… How did you _not_ realise?”

Woohyun sniggers at Myungsoo’s outrage, while Howon merely rolls his eyes, amused. Sunggyu ends up being the one who speaks up.

“Come on, Myungsoo, you were the one shifting between being a cat and a random stranger Sungyeol picked up in the bar, and he didn’t even _suspect_ that both of them were you until you told him a week later. Why are you even surprised?”

Dongwoo snorts at that, limbs flailing, then chokes because he’d been shoving popcorn into his mouth before. Sungjong sighs, then taps his back.

“This wasn’t what I had in mind when I bought those instant metamorphmagus packs.”

“Wait, you _bought_ them?” Sungyeol’s eyes are wide, like this is actually news. “I thought you said you found something in your old textbooks –”

“Dude, did you think neither of us would have noticed if our maknae went to magic school where textbooks would teach you how to summon a metamorphmagus?”

Sunggyu’s scrunched face is amusing, and Woohyun would laugh if not for Howon suddenly pinching him in the side.

“You look so cute with sweaterpaws,” Howon mumbles, and Woohyun looks down, notices that he’s indeed drowning in someone – probably Sunggyu’s – sweater.

“We didn’t need to hear that,” Myungsoo mutters, already going back into prissy cat mode like he’s not in his human form at the moment.

“Shut up, don’t think we don’t hear you and Sungyeol at night.” It’s childish, but Woohyun sticks his tongue out, succeeds in goading Myungsoo.

“Guys, can we set a no-shifting rule when we’re talking because I’m sick of breaking up this cat and dog fight every time we gather,” Sungjong mumbles to an audience of exactly no one, while Dongwoo tries to pull Woohyun from Myungsoo.

No one bothers, least of all Woohyun, who’s still wrestling with Myungsoo. Dongwoo’s already given up trying to separate them, back to inhaling popcorn.

(In other words, it's just another regular night in the household, and no, Sungyeol still hasn’t moved out of Sunggyu’s apartment despite the amount of hinting everyone’s done.)

Woohyun nips Myungsoo for that, tumbles when Myungsoo gets the upper hand.

Like he’d said, just another regular night.

 

 

 

**End**

**Author's Note:**

> I started this last year in April and only just finished it. This is a pretty random universe and I originally had ideas for some side drabbles but this already turned out to be longer than I expected so I figured this was enough? Anyway, it's been so long since I wrote for Infinite and I hope you'd enjoy this~ I'll love to know what you think :) Kudos and comments are always appreciated ^^


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